I believe it’s time again to pause and find a specific story we can use as an example.

My thesis from the beginning has been that there is only one story of humanity, God’s Story, but it has never been easy to see. For humanity’s story began a very long time ago and none of us were there. Even more, when the Fall happened it effected Adam and Eve’s understanding and memory of what had been real and true, something we very much inherited.

And so, that beginning can never be proven, unlike more recent history on which most of us agree. The gospel is something you come to believe at some point during your life, or not. But to be honest, with no objective proof, it is much easier not to believe it.

One of the greatest proofs of the real story, as I call it, has always been at our very fingertips, in a place we never expected — in stories. As Christopher Booker noted, “These structured sequences of imagery are in fact the most natural way we know to describe almost everything which happens in our lives.”1 

We are creatures who live in time, and so, maybe it is impossible to think of things, or to describe them, without placing them in sequence. But I wonder if stories are as important to us as they are because we want and need our lives to be meaningful. Stories always imply intentionality and purpose. Life may often seem random, but I don’t believe we want it to be. Quite a deep subject, maybe for another time.

We spend an extraordinary amount of time enjoying stories, listening to them, reading them, watching them played out on stage and screen. As with any art form, we expect the content to be extremely broad, whatever happens to be on the mind and heart of the writer. It could be anything from ants to zucchini and everything in between.

But while the details on the surface of stories vary widely, down below, thematically, the great majority of stories conform to something much more specific. And since no one is doing this on purpose, and there are thousands of authors, the only possible explanation is that deep inside, we share a common understanding of this life.

Christopher Booker spent over thirty years reading stories and discovered seven basic plots, all different aspects of the one common theme, “In the end, darkness is overcome and light wins the day.”2

But if I had to reduce those seven even further, to just two basic themes, they would be:

Our story has always been a love story. God only created because He loves. And so, when we turned to self and pride, choosing the things of this world over Him, we betrayed our one true Lover. The unfinished business of our lives is to reconcile with Him.

To reconcile, we must turn inwards and declare war on the dark and selfish things in our hearts. It is a battle we will fight for the rest of our lives, and ironically, a battle we can only win with His help.

Reconciliation is serious business. It cannot be taken lightly. If you have ever betrayed an earthly lover, you would know you have to be very serious about reconciling or it will never be possible. They have to be convinced you are truly sorry, that it breaks your heart you broke theirs, for you to ever regain their trust. They have to believe you will do whatever it takes to make sure it never happens again.

Why would God expect any different? Sadly, he knows we are not capable of perfect faithfulness. And so, He is much more pragmatic. He just wants us to admit the gravity of our sin and selfishness, that we did betray Him for the things of this world, that we see our error and repent of it.

Next time we will dive deeper into the first theme, our love story with God, but I want to give you some homework. Please listen to the song Pretty Fair Maid in The Garden, by Tim O’Brien. You can find it on music streaming services on the album Fiddler’s Green. 

If you do not subscribe to any music streaming services, you should! It may be the best money you ever spend. But if you are not able to listen to the song, simply search for the lyrics online and read them. The author is unknown and the song in the public domain. I will be sad if you don’t hear the melody, but you can still follow along.

Next time.

Sam

1  Booker, Christopher, The Seven Basic Plots (London: Bloomsbury Continuum), 3.
2 Ibid, 219.